(1) Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a waterproof connector, which includes a slider for releasing a coupling lock between male and female connectors and a sealing cover for pressing a waterproof sealing member in a connector.
(2) Description of the Related Art
FIG. 4 shows an example of a conventional waterproof connector (see Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-270282).
In this conventional waterproof connector, a waterproof connector 51 includes: a connector housing 52 made of synthetic resin; a mat seal (rubber stopper) 53 attached to the rear of the connector housing 52; and a sealing holder 54 made of synthetic resin for pressing the mat seal 53 onto the connector housing 52.
The connector housing 52 includes a hood part 55 having a chamber for fitting an opposite connector thereto and a receiving part 56 for receiving terminals therein formed integrally with the hood part 55 at the rear of the hood part 55, wherein the receiving part 56 includes a plurality of terminal-receiving chambers. The terminal-receiving chamber receives an electric wire-connecting part of the rear half of a male terminal (not shown in the figure). A tab-shaped contacting part of the front half of the male terminal protrudes inside the hood part 55.
The mat seal 53 is provided with holes 57 for guiding electric wires therethrough according to the respective terminal-receiving chambers. The sealing holder 54 is provided with holes 58 for guiding terminals therethrough. The sealing holder 54 is provided with ribs 59 and the mat seal 53 is provided with slits 60 for inserting the respective ribs 59 therein.
The mat seal 53 is attached to the connector housing 52 and the sealing holder 54 is provisionally fit to the mat seal 53 from the back of the mat seal 53, then a terminal with an electric wire is allowed to penetrate through the mat seal 53 from the rear of the sealing holder 54 so as to be inserted into the connector housing 52 and then, the sealing holder 54 is pressed thereto so that the mat seal 53 is pressed to and allowed to adhere to the receiving part 56 of the connector housing 52.
FIG. 5 shows another example of a conventional waterproof connector illustrating a fitting state of male and female connectors.
One connector housing 61 includes an outer hood part 70 and an inner housing 63, wherein the inner housing 63 acts as a terminal-receiving part and has cylinder parts 64 for the respective terminals at the rear of the inner housing 63. A ring-shaped waterproof rubber stopper (not shown in the figure), which adheres to an outer peripheral surface of an electric wire of a female terminal with the electric wire, is inserted in the corresponding cylinder part 64.
The hood part 70 is provided with a flexible locking arm 65. An opposite connector housing 62 is provided with a locking projection 66, which engages with the inside of a front end part 67 of the locking arm 65. An operation part 68 at the rear half of the locking arm 65 is pushed down, thereby releasing the lock.
The opposite connector housing 62 receives a male terminal with an electric wire (not shown in the figure) and a tab-shaped contacting part of the front half of the male terminal protrudes inside a hood part 69. The male and female terminals are connected to each other simultaneously when the connector housings 61 and 62 are fit to each other. A connector is composed by the connector housings 61 and 62 and the terminals (not shown in the figure).
However, as for the conventional waterproof connector shown in FIG. 4, since means for provisionally locking and fully locking the sealing holder 54 to the connector housing 52 are necessary, a structure of the sealing holder 54 becomes complicated, causing an increase in the cost of the waterproof connector.
Further, as for the conventional waterproof connector shown in FIG. 5, since it is necessary to have a large space for allowing the locking arm 65 to bend upon the release of the lock, thereby causing a problem that the connector housing 61 is enlarged in the height direction thereof. That is, a waterproof connector having a lock-releasing function has been desired without increasing the size of the connector housing. Furthermore, such a desired waterproof connector must be constructed without increasing the number of parts thereof. This is because if the number of parts increases, the number of parts of a mold and the cost of a mold for molding resin are increased, and the cost for controlling the parts and the man-hour for control are increases, thereby causing an increase in the cost of the waterproof connector.